Sound The Bugle
by Blitz Chick
Summary: ONESHOT SONGFIC! Minor angst. Samus is ambushed by Space Pirates on Aether and is left for dead. When faced with the choice between life and death, the choice is difficult for the worldrenowned hunter.


DISCLAIMER OF DOOM: I do not own Metroid, Samus Aran or anything else related to either of the two items previously mentioned. Hah, can't sue me.

The Hunter was down.

She lay on the ground, sprawled face first into the sands of Agon Wastes. The Pirate ambush had caught her completely off guard, and now she lay on the brink of hopelessness.

_Sound the bugle now_

_Play it just for me_

_As the seasons change_

_Remember how I used to be_

In her peripheral vision, the blonde huntress could see her energy levels at four and holding. That was only because of sheer willpower. Would it be better if she just gave up and died? Her blue eyes blinked slowly, seeing but not really seeing.

Surely things would be better if she was gone. No more would die at her hand. No more nights of wondering whose son or daughter she had accidentally killed. Although Space Pirates were her enemy, she had to wonder who she was sending to the grave. A friend? A sister? A brother? A mother or father?

The thought of killing someone's parents was enough to send the huntress spiraling into despair. Was she truly no better than them?

_Now I can't go on_

_I can't even start_

_I got nothing left_

_Just an empty heart_

Nobody would really miss her if she died. To the Federation she was just another faceless soldier. A hired hand. Something they could just throw away at any moment. What use was she now that she was almost dead?

_I'm a soldier_

_Wounded so I _

_Must give up the fight_

_There's nothing more_

_For me_

_Lead me away_

_Or leave me lying here_

At long last, a lone tear slid down Samus's smooth cheek. If she lived through this, maybe it was time to throw in the towel. Anything she could call family was dead or mysteriously gone. She could actually Adam Malkovich's computerized voice calling her name as if from a great distance, even though it was right in her helmet speaker. It felt as though all doors had been closed.

When she was young, someone had taught her that no matter what happened, there was always another option; an open door for her.

What a lie.

_Sound the bugle now_

_Tell them I don't care_

_There's not a road I know_

_That leads to anywhere_

She had already been down every road there had been and there was naught but killing, death, blood and hopelessness. The huntress had thought by pursuing this kind of career she would be able to find some sort of redemption…forgiveness almost. But there was nothing like that down this path.

There really didn't seem to be a logical reason to continue her work.

_Without a light I_

_Fear that I will_

_Stumble in the dark_

_Lay right down_

_Decide not to go on_

But logic had nothing to do with the reason she took the job, did it? No…she recalled her reasons quickly, remembering them as clearly as the day she came up with them.

Someone had to protect the beings of the galaxy. Someone had to stand up for the rights of the common human or alien.

Wherever there was death.

Wherever there was injustice.

Wherever there was slavery.

Wherever a child cried for it's parents, that's where she had to be.

_Then from on high_

_Somewhere in the distance_

_There's a voice that calls_

"_Remember who you are!"_

Curling her hand into a fist, Samus felt the sand run through as she slowly and shakily rose onto her elbows, leaning heavily on her right elbow and straightening the left arm.

No! She would not die here! She would not lose to the Pirates! She still had breath, did she not?

From her elbows, Samus rose to her knees, blue eyes sharpening and staring across the war torn landscape before her.

_If you lose yourself_

_Your courage soon will follow_

_So be strong tonight_

_Remember who you are_

Eventually she rose to her feet and a breeze caught, blowing the tiniest grains of sand off of her armor, carrying them away where they turned little spirals in the air.

She knew what she had to do.

She knew who she was.

She was the defender of freedom.

_You're a soldier now_

_Fighting in a battle_

_To be free_

_Once more_

_That's worth fighting for_


End file.
